


Monochromatic

by ClimateChange5517



Series: He Knows a Guy [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death (mentioned), Gen, Photographer Ben Parker, Photographer Peter Parker, Photography, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27785632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClimateChange5517/pseuds/ClimateChange5517
Summary: Ben always liked taking pictures, a hobby he'd passed down to Peter.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Peter Parker, Ben Parker/May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker
Series: He Knows a Guy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005411
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Monochromatic

**Author's Note:**

> A lot shorter than I'd intended, but out of my, like, five drafts for this, this one was my favorite, which isn't saying much. I might revise this at some point but idk.

Peter was seven when he first found Ben on the fire escape. 

“May says we’re not supposed to be out here.” he’d whispered, not very successfully. Peter was young, not quite having mastered the art of staying quiet.

Ben had just smiled, giving an airy laugh.

“She thinks it’s dangerous. And it is, only come out here if there’s a fire or if there’s an adult out here.”

Ben looked around conspiratorially. 

“Follow me, Peter. Hold onto my hand _real_ tight, I wanna show you something.”

Peter did, climbing through the window. He’d squeezed onto Ben’s hand as hard as possible, especially when he looked down and over the side of the fire escape, realizing just how high they were.

“Alright, see that ladder? I want you to climb it first, I’ll wait down here in case you fall.”

Eventually, Peter stood next to Ben on the rooftop of their apartment building.

“Look.” Ben whispered.

Peter gasped.

He never really got to look from higher up like this, even now, it wasn’t exactly the best spot, but for Peter it was incredible. Queens at night was still so _bright_. Lights coming from various windows of various shades, from warm yellows to cold whites, and even a purple window at the complex across the street.

“Wow.”

“I know, right buddy?”

“Do you just look? I think I could sit up here for hours!”

Ben laughed, a warm and deep sound, smothering the already distant sounds of the city. In that moment, it was Peter, the lights, and Ben.

“I take pictures.”

Peter frowned.

“Pictures? Why?”

“Well,” and Ben leaned over, holding out the camera that Peter hadn’t noticed was around his neck. “for these.”

There were hundreds of shots, some taken while Ben had just been walking the city, looking up at the skyscrapers, others from rooftops, looking down into streets or across the horizon.

“These are so _cool_ , Uncle Ben.”

Ben ruffled Peter’s hair, who ducked away a bit, still entranced by the camera.

He paused for a second, before a smile split his face once more.

“How about I show you how to take pictures like these?”

Peter looked up, brown eyes comically wide.

“ _Really?_ Wow.”

It became their thing. Every Friday night they would wait until May fell asleep before sneaking out to the roof to take pictures. Most of it was Ben teaching Peter how to choose between settings, which settings were better for night shots, which would be better for day shots. How to properly zoom and adjust the pictures so they looked nicer.

May always knew what they were doing, and she just smiled, shaking her head at them.

On Friday nights where Ben had to work, Peter was supposed to stay inside, however, it’d been a while since Ben had taught him, and Peter was _eight_ now. He was a whole _year_ older. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad?

But Peter didn’t have Ben’s camera, he would have to take it out of storage.

Carefully and quietly, or as quiet as an eight year old could be, he brought a chair over by the closet.

He _knew_ he wasn’t supposed to, but he really _really_ wanted to take pictures, and Ben wasn’t here and May was asleep.

He stepped up onto the chair, frowning when he realized he’d _still_ have to reach to grab it.

Carefully and slowly, he reached up, grabbing the box.

He was bringing it down, over to the counter, when the box opened, and the camera crashed to the linoleum floor.

If May hadn’t been awake before, she sure was now.

“Peter?”

“It’s nothing, Aunt May.”

She stepped out of the room, looking at the scene in the kitchen.

“Oh, _Peter._ ”

Peter felt tears welling up in his eyes. 

“I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to take some pictures and then the box opened as I was carrying it and now Uncle Ben’s gonna be really mad and I’m-”

May rested her hands on Peter’s, which he’d been waving around frantically.

“You’re fine, sweetheart. You’re fine. I’ll put it away, and we can discuss this in the morning.”

Peter nodded, a few tears falling down his face.

May pulled him into a hug. 

“Just go to sleep, alright?”

Peter nodded again.

As he closed his door, he could hear her moving the chair, the rustling as the blankets were shoved back a bit to make room for the box.

The next morning, he shuffled into the dining room, eyes directed at the floor.

“Hey kiddo.”

“I’m sorry Uncle Ben.”

“Hey now, it’s gonna be alright. You’re in trouble because you were planning on going to the roof to take pictures, not because of the camera. It’s not even broken, just a small chip on the exterior.”

Ben rose from the table, leaving his coffee cup behind.

“Peter, you can’t go to the roof alone, alright? You could fall and get hurt, and especially because neither May nor I would have been there, we couldn’t have gotten help if you did get hurt.”

Peter nodded.

“Two weeks, no computer, no rooftop pictures.”

He nodded, something he was doing a lot of. His throat burned and he felt horrible for what he did. Frustratingly, tears pricked at his eyes.

“I’m really sorry.”

“I know buddy.”

A few years later, Ben announced something.

“I’m getting a new camera soon, I think you might like this one.”

With that, Ben slipped off the camera around his neck and handed it to 14 year old Peter. 

“Merry Christmas kiddo.”

Carefully, using his sticking powers to be even more sure it wouldn’t all, he threw himself around Ben, hugging him as tightly as he dared.

“ _Thank you, thank you, thank you._ ”

Ben never lived long enough to get the camera.

He died a little over three weeks later.

Peter put the camera away on the top shelf of his closet, that little chip on the edge holding too many memories, aching so damn _painfully_.

A piece of his life had been sliced away, leaving behind a view that looked so much more _grey_ than before.

And then Spider-Man happened, and then Germany, and then Homecoming.

May had already discussed his punishment for lying, and honestly, Peter didn’t mind going through and cleaning his room, there were things he needed to get rid of.

He pulled out an ugly raincoat off the top shelf, a semi-disgusted look on his face. It was brown and green and _not_ the right shades for those two colors to be put together.

Then, he pulled out the box.

Inside was that same Canon camera that Ben had given him.

He felt a deep pang at the fact that he’d never really used it, not after Ben had died.

Carefully, he set the box on his nightstand.

_Later,_ he told himself, _once he finished going through his room._

The night air was harsh, almost biting, but it felt refreshing.

He was on the roof, holding onto Ben’s camera-- _Peter's_ camera.

The city lights reminded him of that very first night, and he raised the camera, adjusting the settings with well practiced movements, the quiet _click_ echoing across the roof.

He let out a breath he never realized he was holding, a quiet tension in his muscles that bled out at that familiar sound.

The world around him seemed to still, and for the first time in a _long_ time, Peter’s vision began to regain just a little bit of that color.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, sleep well, stay hydrated, take care of yourselves <3.


End file.
